


The Double Dad Disaster

by thebatjokesonyou



Category: The LEGO Batman Movie (2017), The LEGO Movie (2014)
Genre: Adorable Robin, Backstory, Batjokes, But she's not like, F/F, Humanoid legos, Hypnosis, I ain't makin my baby some damn self insert to ship with anyone, Joker obsessing over his Bat-senpai, Lego, Legos, M/M, OC's in this, Shipped with any of them???, forgive me for my sins, i don't know how to tag, lego of my sins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-23
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-10-09 23:17:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 21,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10424028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebatjokesonyou/pseuds/thebatjokesonyou
Summary: When Robin calls out, "I'M COMING TO SAVE YOU, DADS!" In front of the news and a very confused Joker, everything and everyone goes haywire. Harley decides to call in an old friend and suddenly Batman's in a whole heap of trouble.





	1. The Call of the Robin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the beginning, there was a bunch of chapter summaries. I'm almost positive this is the only one that followed my original plans. 
> 
> This is the chapter of Robin's infamous line! Includes burning buildings and Joker harassing a news team. Get ready to dive into a flaming hot mess-

Of course Joker had to be doing yet another one of his arson schemes. The entire building was evacuated but Batman always knew it was best to comb the building one more time before exiting. As he'd suspected, a man was caught in the frame of his doorway, half the door and wall near him ablaze. A quick cut by a batarang freed his arm and he grabbed the thankful citizen before swinging out of the building, placing him on the ground before he went back in. However, as he entered the building again, the back of his foot tapped onto the window he entered, the wooden frame suddenly collapsing and rolling onto his leg. The Dark Knight let out a loud cry of surprise, falling to the ground stomach first. He grit his teeth, eyes narrowing as he realized he was stuck. Batman always hated situations like this. He tried to ignore the pain in his leg, reaching instead for his belt to try and find his grappling hook to attempt to grapple the chunk off his leg. Right now, he was pinned to the floor and hating it. 

Outside the building, Robin'd been watching, getting worried when he didn't see the Batman's silhouette in any windows. "Batman...?" He asked no one in particular. Another second passed by and there was still no sign of him in the fiery building. 

The news cast was close to the flaming structure, reporting on what Robin feared. "...you join us live in Downtown Gotham, several people, including my team and I, having witnessed Batman swing into the burning building currently behind me but not out of it. We fear the Joker may finally have his last lau-" 

She didn't get to finish as Joker suddenly used his hips to shove her out of the way, taking the mike. "Oh Janet, Janet, Janet. You and your news team must be crazier than I am to think that a burning building is what's gonna take out Batman. I mean, not even the acid spitting crocodiles could do it, I highly doubt that one measly burning building could." He scoffed at the thought, facing the camera and even winking. 

Janet got back onto her feet with a glare, snatching the mike back. "Right. But as far as we've seen, Batman has not reemerged, and until he does, we can't be completely sure that he's safe. We'll stay on this story until the Bat returns." She then purposefully looked at the smug Joker who was posing at the camera more. "And hopefully, he'll knock some sense into people living in a world of pretend where actions have no consequences." 

Robin watched it all transpire, his concern only growing with the fire as the firefighters were still on their way. "O-Oh...BatDad..." He looked around at the ground for a moment before Robin couldn't take it anymore. He took out his grappling hook, shot it at the window Batman had entered and yelled in the heat of the moment, "I'M COMING TO SAVE YOU, DADS!" 

Joker and the news team turned back, watching Robin swing through the air and enter the room and were unable to see what was going on but shared a puzzled look. 

"Dads...?" Joker mumbled to himself, feeling more confused than when Riddler tried to set up a double team plan with him that involved jelly, a baby rattle and a Russian flag. 

Robin was focused entirely on Batman, entering the orange room as his eyes quickly locked onto the dark form on the floor. "Dad!" He managed to say, removing the wood with his hands and going over to his face. "Dad, are you okay?" 

Batman stood up shakily, coughing as the smoke had gotten to him a bit. "I'm fine, but, you shouldn't be in here. I told you to-" He was cut off by a cough, putting his face against his arm. 

"I know, I know! I'm sorry, I just started panicking! I got scared that you were hurt." Robin reasoned quickly, putting a hand to his arm to try and secure him. "C'mon Dad, we gotta get out of here! The building's falling apart!" 

Knowing his adopted son was right, Batman grabbed his discarded grappling hook and kicked away the remainder of the window with his good leg, leaving a gaping hole as he shot out the building, holding Robin as he swung out. 

Batman didn't notice one of Robin's gloves having fallen off in the process and when they reached the nearest building, he looked down to see Robin passed out. "Must've been the fumes...'Puter, get the Batmobile parked and the top open in 3 blocks from here and then autopilot us on the fastest route home." He instructed, already running with the smaller in a bridle style hold. "We need to go home now." The quiet words had been for more than his technological assistant. 

As Batman held Robin, running off to safety, he didn't hear the news reporter confirming Batman's safety nor the questioning of the statement Robin had made earlier. He had no clue that they'd been taping since the moment Robin let out his phrase, that becoming the new shift in topic as the fire-fighters finally arrived.

He also didn't notice a stunned into silence Joker, who was returning to his hideout at top speed and having a repeat of the phrase, "I'M COMING TO SAVE YOU, DADS!" Playing over and over in his brain to try and make sense of it. 

。。。

Once Batman arrived, Alfred had quickly tended to the both of them, starting with Robin. There'd been no argument from Bruce in doing so and after a speedy check up and some help from the computer, it was confirmed that Robin was fine and only needed some rest and fresh air. 

A scan of Batman's leg by Computer revealed that the pain and swelling was going to go down with ice and bandages. He'd just need to stay off it for a week to give it enough time to heal. However, the Bat wasn't too happy about that. 

"Alfred, I don't need to be kept on house arrest." Batman sat up in his bed, arms crossed and practically pouting. Only practically. He wasn't going to actually pout, if only for his pride's sake. 

Alfred shook his head, putting a hand on his chest to ease him down and picked a lobster thermidor on a metal tray, setting it on the nightstand for now. "Master Bruce, you're going to stay in here for a week or it will only get worse. Causing permanent damage could make it easy for Batman to start slipping up. And if someone happens to notice Bruce Wayne acting like a hurt Batman..." He let his explanation trail off, knowing the other could put 2 and 2 together. 

Batman groaned loudly, a hand on his face before he waved it dismissively at his butler. "I know, I know. I'm the world's greatest detective, I figured all that out already." Grumbled the annoyed super.

"Of course, Master Bruce." Alfred humored him, nodding to let Batman keep the ego he so depended on alive. "And if you'd still like to argue on the subject, I could call up miss Barbra. She could place Batman on official arrest and have you deal with the added stress of the GCPD going after you. You know how available they are, they'd adore the opportunity to chase you down and actually do something other than clean up after your messes or play with the sirens." The older man lightly threatened, already imagining the eager GCPD treating themselves to ice cream after locking up the Bat for a night.

One more loud sound a grown man shouldn't make in frustration unless he was a man-baby later and Batman gave up. "Fine. But only because I don't want to have to deal with those babies in blue. Everyone knows black is the most threatening of colors and they hardly wear any." 

The aged Brit rolled his eyes and tucked in the multi-billionaire/vigilante. "No more chit chat, Master Bruce. You need sleep to rest yourself and your leg." Alfred insisted, putting the blanket just underneath his chin as he liked it. He then finally put the nail in the coffin, wanting to be completely assured that Bruce wouldn't defy his orders. "Master Dick's been rather worried about you. It's difficult for him to sleep with the thought of you moving on the leg you should be leaving be. He blames himself, partially. A full, speedy recovery would put his worries to bed." Alfred knew it was a bit cruel to hit that low on the emotional belt but he spoke the truth and wanted nothing more than Bruce to understand how important it was to listen this time. 

Batman gave a huff that was much quieter than the other huffs he'd given earlier. "That's fine. I was gonna do that anyways." The Dark Knight grumbled, knowing that he had (obviously) chosen to listen to him earlier. 

。。。

At the Joker's little hide-away that stored a majority of Gotham's baddies, there was a feeling of awkwardness and tension inside. The villains that conversed did so in a quiet and careful manner, not wanting to upset the man in charge, AKA Gotham's most unstable and unpredictable criminal. 

Joker was currently making himself a cup of coffee in the kitchen, pouring in more sugar to the point where it simply looked like a pile of brown tinted cocaine in a cup. He pulled off before it overflowed, raising the cup to his lips and taking a big gulp, wiping away the spare sugar. It seemingly brought him no joy and he took another big sip as though he was attempting to drown his troubles in the stuff.

Harley knew the Clown Prince of Crime was upset when he started to create one lump of sugar with a bit of coffee added to it. "Hey, Sugar Plum. You wanna talk about something?" She inquired as soothingly as possible. Her BCFF (best clown friend forever) wasn't easy to approach in such a state. 

Said mad-man in question took another sip, opting to ignore her once again instead of actually discuss his problems. It was a much easier decision and easy choices with easy answers was a welcome change of pace. Something as complicated and confusing (like himself or his crush or that stupid, stupid "s" that child in tights screamed out) was a little too much for him right now. 

Harley paused, thinking on it before her face lit up in a grin that Hatter would have called cheshire. "Well, if you won't talk about how to fix this, I think I have the solution." 

Seeing her expression, Joker paused, putting down his diabetic drink. "What are you talking about, girl buddy?" He asked, actually feeling pretty curious now. 

"I have a friend out of town who owes me a little somethin'..."


	2. The Two For One Special

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the introductory chapter for the Hypnotherapist! (AKA, Danielle and Marie-Ann) This chapter explores their relationship and how they fit into the universe. Mentions things that happened in the Lego Movie (Taco Tuesday, Lord Buisness reference) and a bunch of orignal stuff that I tried to keep as simple and believable as possible. Batfam'll be back in the next chapter but for now, it's just Joker and Harley!

It was Thursday night and Marie-Ann had been staying in the basement for 3 days straight. Which as creepy and disturbing as it may seem, the thought of this act being odd never surfaced. Instead, she quietly polished thousands of trinkets she'd kept over the years, bags under her eyes as she does so.

_"Um...Marie? Can we talk?"_

Marie-Ann ignored the voice that was quite literally coming from the back of her head. Not entirely on purpose but because she was so absolutely transfixed on polishing her rose quartz pendant to perfection that anything else was more than difficult to focus on.

_"Marie! C'mon, I know you can hear me! And you get so huffy and puffy when I play the quiet game with you."_

Marie-Ann sighed through her nose, those infamous ruby red eyes shutting momentarily before opening back up to stare at the quartz, unable to make eye contact with the one who was speaking to her. "What is it, Danielle? What's so important that you needed to speak to me?" She grits her teeth, trying to hold in the annoyance for her sister's sake.

_"Geez! You could at least try to call me Dani. Everyone else does, including my patients."_

"Do I seem like the kind of person who needs a 'paid pretend friend' like you?" Marie-Ann hissed, her hands going back to polishing by moving onto the golden, gleaming pocket-watch that had been to the right of the finished quartz.

_"I'm not here to lecture you! But I do think I would like a turn in the body that doesn't involve me making sure we sleep or eat or go to the bathroom because you're too delirious to keep me out. We've been down here for 3 days and I've watched you clean and read without end!"_

Marie-Ann paused once more at that, both baffled and slightly insulted. "You really think I'd trap us here for 3 days? It's only been about 4 hours, at the latest. I would never keep us here for more than a day. Where would we even sleep?" The questions came out indignantly as Marie-Ann took the nearest plastic, black stool and sat on it, unable to focus on the treasures anymore.

_"In the corner! There's a bunch of mats and special blankets we've both used for clients before. I used them and some pillows we had around here to make a bed. It's actually pretty comfy."_

After a quick look around, Marie-Ann turned her head to see the makeshift bed of mats, fluffy blankets and pillows her sister described. Gosh darn it. Her sister being right was never a good sign. "And what about food? And toiletries?"

_"Remember how we decided to build a fallout shelter in case things got way worse on the surface than they already were? I just used the passcode to get food and access the bathroom installed there."_

Marie-Ann's eyes went to the nearby metal door with the painted words "TACO TUESDAY SHELTER" that Miss Fortune had recommended they put. She was nearly impressed her younger sister had remembered such a thing but then snapped back into reality with a disbelieving scowl. "You used our fallout shelter for a makeshift kitchen and bathroom?! Why didn't you leave?!"

Marie-Ann could practically see the shrug Danielle would have given her if she was in the body. _" **You** closed your eyes so I couldn't see, remember? You hid the keys and I looked but I couldn't find them, just 'cause YOU didn't want me to come in here on my own." _

"Oh." Marie-Ann stared down at the many thing-a-ma-bobs she had laid out on the table. Gadgets and gizmos aplenty, whozits and whatzits galore. She had everything when it came to the hypnotic side of science, culture or art.

There was a soft sigh Marie-Ann heard from her sister. She immediately disliked it, knowing it was the same disappointed sigh Danielle made during sessions. _"What's troubling you, Marie? You're usually the responsible, understanding and mature one. I'm a goofball! A weird, optimistic, goofball who used to be a clown. A clown, Marie! Why is the clown more aware than the hypnotist, Marie-Ann?"_

Marie-Ann felt irritation creeping into her and decided a venting lecture was the best thing to give right now. "Well, _Dani_ , I've simply been a tad bit stressed. Forgive me for having the good sense to wonder what's been going out in the world that was nearly destroyed by a dictator we previously thought was rather decent. Big Top Drop hasn't seen the light of day for 8 and a half years because of Miss Fortune and now we're supposed to just go back out into the world again?" Her anger subsided into something far more vulnerable. "It's been so long, Danielle. I wonder who's still around that remembers us. The clowns made that stupid Clown Town, the Master Builders that had lived here left after the foretelling and the Ringmaster's given us more than a home here for far too long. We've run out of money, of options, of sympathy." It was her turn to let out a sigh. The sound carried all the emotion she'd kept hidden for 8 and a half years. "What are we supposed to do now?"

A brief silence let Marie-Ann know her little sister was trying to find the right words to say. When Danielle found them, she started talking. _"We'll make the best of it, Marie. Like we always do. I'm sure plenty of those Master Builders need a therapeutic hand to hold and a hypnotic hand to soothe them. Miss Fortune told us we'd either have to fight to survive if the KRAGLE worked or have to rebuild our lives if the Special saved us all. We're alive, the world's changing, there's a whole renaissance going on up there! We can be a part of it, Marie. Make friends, do some good again!"_

Marie-Ann smiled to herself, remembering the old days. Back when Big Top Drop was the biggest and best circus around, back when she'd do her hypnotist act or Danielle showed off one of her talents for all to see. Back when they began to give out business cards again and helped people deal with fears or worries, set them at ease and gave people their lives back. It had been so satisfying, so amazing. When Miss Fortune predicted the world's end, it had been heart breaking. To think of going back up to see what was left was more than exhilarating yet extremely frightening.

_"Maybe we lost some friends but that never stopped us before. We've been through a lot, Marie. Me AND you. I'm surprised you miss everyone so much! And don't try to lie, I can almost taste your loneliness. Literally. It's only human, Marie-Ann! We can go out and make new friends, meet new people. And we do have each other for like, ever."_

The smile widened, a little chuckle passing through Marie-Ann at the thought of spending the rest of her life with Danielle. "I suppose that's true. As peppy and sweet as you are, you're a tolerable presence." She resolved, already feeling her anxiety starting to ease up on her.

There was a fake, haughty scoff at that. _"Marie! I'm insulted! I'm great and adorable and anyone'd be more than happy to be stuck with me! How dare you try and tell me otherwise?!"_

Marie-Ann laughed one of her rare laughs, the kind she only shared with her sister. It was always nice to have those sugary reminders that while life wasn't always easy, she had someone to metaphorically hold her hand through it all.

And after Marie-Ann was about to give Danielle control and finally leave the basement, there came a wake-up call. Well, a literal call went to the pastel pink and Sanrio decorated phone Danielle used for her customers. The kawaii-pop (that IS a style of music, mind you, you can look it up) ringtone gave the two of of them a bit of a scare, as neither had heard the sound of either of their phones ringing for 8 and a half years.

At that point, there was no questions or objections. There was a quick spin of the head, long, curly brunette hair staying in place as it and Danielle picked up the phone, her face lit up and golden amber eyes. "Hello! I'm ready to help so you can be the best you ever! How may I help you?" The smooth, soothing voice Marie had was replaced by a higher, cheery tone that definitely put a smile on most people's faces.

On the call, there were two voices in the background, one male and one female, the both of them bickering about something most likely involving Danielle (as far as she could tell). Some more bickering later and one of them spoke again. "Sorry! Sometimes good ol' J likes to fight with me on this sorta thing. Anyways, it's nice to hear from you again, jelly bean!"

Danielle's eyes widened, her freckled cheeks raised as she couldn't stop glee from taking over her face. "Oh my gosh! Harleen?! It's been forever!" She was on the verge of squealing, holding in all the sounds she wanted to make as loudly as possible.

 **"What?! Harleen? Are you completely sure that's her, Danielle?"** If there had been water and Marie-Ann's mouth, she would have most likely choked on it at the thought of speaking to Harleen again.

"Huh? Dani?" Harley responded back, sounding more than a bit perplexed before she took in a breath, her brain catching up to her. "Oh! Dani! Yeah, we need you too! Can that sister of yours hear me right now?"

"Mhmm!" Danielle nodded, considering switching to show Harleen that Marie-Ann was able to listen to every word she said. Having 2 different people in one body was difficult and demonstrating this sort of thing spoke volumes more than nodding or trying to explain.

An air of hesitance was clear in Marie-Ann's attitude. **"It's fine, Danielle. I'd much rather let you two take care of things. She did call your number instead of mine."**

Not having heard Marie-Ann's response, Harley kept talking. "Well, hiya to you too, Marie! I called ya because J and I could use some of your hypnotism skills! And I think the both of ya could work really well." She sounded extremely confident in her plan, having already plotted it all out.

Whoever J was (Danielle and Marie-Ann currently had no idea) decided to freak out even more, clearly having no clue of what was going on right now. "Girl buddy! What the heck are you talking about?! What's the plan?! And I thought you were only bringing one person!" He was very, very whiny by this point.

Harley laughed when he spoke, loud and slightly terrifying laughter the sisters hadn't heard from her before. "I am, J! She's a two for one special! The answer to your midnight rambles! She's the world famous, Hypnotherapist!"

Danielle and Marie-Ann shuddered quietly to themselves. The way she said the name they used only on rare occasions for customers or when Big Top had tried to cash in on it (before Ring Master realized their absolute discomfort at being simply lumped together and that they were two people, not split personalities) made them regret picking up the phone.

"You should realize, J, we're in the company of a star! Dani and Marie could hypnotize anyone back in the day! And since we need someone with skills and finesse to get who we want, we're gonna use them!" Harley continued her "grand introduction" to Joker until she gave attention to the Danielle again. "How long would it take the two of you to get to Gotham?"

Danielle froze up on the spot, unable to remember with the emotions brought up by Harley. "Uh...um..." She racked her brain, struggling to find the right amount of days. Stress always made it difficult to recall anything.

Unable to let her sister keep suffering, Marie-Ann switched in without Danielle's approval, answering quickly. "About 4 days at the most, Harleen. It's nice to hear from you too." Her tone suggested otherwise but Marie-Ann wasn't in the mood to pretend as though she was pleased to get a call asking her to go to Gotham of all places.

Harley giggled on the end of the line. "See? What'd I tell ya, J?! They'll be here lickity split, Boo-Boo. Then we can get ya back to your hilarious self!" She assured him, more than sure of herself at this point.

"Who are you talking to, Harleen?" Marie-Ann inquired, her patience having finally run out. To be fair, she didn't have much to begin with.

Harley paused, either caught off guard or pleased to be asked such a question. Really, it could have been either one. "Don't you know? I work for the Joker!"

_Joker._

The word sank into their shared mind like a 50 ton rock through warm, inviting water. Gotham's most wanted criminal, Batman's greatest enemy, renowned lunatic known for making big messes out of buildings and people alike.

**_Joker._ **

"So...this job is for...the _Joker_?" Marie-Ann spoke slowly, wanting to make sure she absolutely understood how deep the hole for her grave was at this point.

They would have bet their life savings that Harley was grinning. "Yeeeep! To tame the big bad Bat and get some answers! You show up in 4 days, stay at our place and then Joker'll bring him here for you to work on! Aaaaand we'll give you a big ol' paycheck to walk out with. Sound like a deal?"

She shouldn't have even asked whether or not it sounded like a deal. The both of them knew that there was no getting out of this.

_"May the Man Upstairs have mercy on our souls."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! So yes, in this fic, the Lego Movie and the Lego Batman Movie take place in the same universe. And this is post Lego Movie, obviously. So yeah! Big Top Drop, Miss Fortune, Ringmaster and the Hypnotherapist are all of my own design! If you didn't get the gist, the fortune teller (Miss Fortune) foretold the Lego Movie's events, knowing either the world would be saved and reborn anew or end. Thankfully, the first happened. So they've been hiding for 8 and a half years. Hope you love my babies as much as I do! They were inspired by GCBC and a little bit of me/my own mental stuff. Time for the plot to progress again-


	3. Happy Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a quick change of plans by Joker and the Hypnotherapist ain't lovin' any of this mess. Have a little warning for mentions of a panic/stress attack and a bit of heavy emotion that'll continue on.

4 days later and on a rather nice afternoon in Gotham, Robin was on patrol. He had been doing day patrol for the past few days so he could still "do his part" to assist. Day patrol usually involved going to the park, walking around with ice cream and saying hi to his friends (a good chunk of those friends being the criminals he was supposed to report) and checking in with Alfred and Barbra throughout the day. His BatDad was still in recovery and he needed all the rest he could get. In the mean time, Robin was gonna do his Padre proud! Every day so far had been perfect and patrol'd gone smoothly. However, today would be rather different. Today, Robin was enjoying one of the packed lunches Alfred provided him (a crisp tuna sandwich with lettuce, an apple, an expensive juice box and a small water) while he walked, humming his BatDad's catchy theme song. He was passing yet another dark and mysterious alleyway when a rather suspicious voice came from it.

"Robin! Rooooobin!" It called, trying to get his full attention and bring him over.

Robin immediately recognized the voice as Joker, his head whipping towards it. "Joker!" He exclaimed, not having seen him since the arson incident. The boy-wonder was told by both Alfred and Barbra to make sure not to tell Joker about Batman still being in recovery at all. They had been over several different cover stories and lies just in case Robin was approached but a part of him really didn't expect it.

Joker, who was sitting in said alleyway, had an expression of nervousness rather than of cunning, holding his hands together as though he were trying to squeeze all the willpower from himself to do this. "Hey kid! I uh, I was wondering if your...Batman was around today?"

The former orphan didn't know how in the world to take care of this. "Uhhhhhh...no!" Robin answered honestly after awhile. "He had a um, birthday party to go to! Superman's! Birthday! He got invited because, um-um-um- there was kryptonite in the cake! And Batman had to take care of the kryptonite! So he's in Metropolis, taking care of the kryptonite cake!" He finished with a not very convincing, big, toothy beam to try and sell the story.

"Huh..." Joker nodded, pretending to take in the story and believe it. He, of all people, knew a lie when he heard one. Especially one that came out of someone who was absolutely terrible at fibbing. "Well, it's actually Harley Quinn's birthday! I was looking for you and Batman but if he can't show up, that's too bad!" The clown shrugged disappointedly, hiding the fact that he was coming up with this on the spot. If the kid was going to lie so badly, Joker figured he'd have to show him how it was done.

Robin was suddenly very excited, his adorable puppy-dog eyes coming to his face as he jumped in place, thrilled at the thought of going to her birthday party. "Oh my gosh, _really_?! Does she want anything special for her birthday?! I know I'd want something super duper cool for mine!"

The Joker quietly smirked to himself, before replacing that smile with a friendlier, more welcoming one. "Oh yes! We're gonna have cake, balloons, and an a-ma-zing present for her this year!" He promised, knowing all those things were at his hide-out already. "We got everything we need at this point...except for the gift." Joker's eyes stared at the alleyway wall to the right of him, head down as if he were ashamed.

"Oh no!" Robin put his gloved hands to his face in real distress. "Where are we gonna find a present for her?" He genuinely searched around, trying to find an idea of where to find something that she would want.

It was hard to hide the snickers Joker had rising from his chest. The kid's cute, naive self was easy to get attached to. He wasn't surprised when many of his "co-workers" of sorts said that they occasionally spent some time with the Bat's sidekick. "Don't worry. I already found her gift, Robin. I just need help wrapping it up." That wasn't a lie at all. He had found something she'd want and was going to love getting in a little bow.

More than thrilled to hear Harley Quinn would definitely get a present, the small, brunette boy getting curious as to what it was. "What did you get her, Mister Joker?! Is it really fancy or super cool or totally dangerous?!" He was bouncing in place, those eyes of his absolutely shining. Joker shook his head, reaching into his pocket at though he was pulling it out.

"You can come see, if you want." He motioned him closer with his free hand, knowing Robin would most likely obey it. The clown did need him to be close enough for this to work.

The Joker's prediction came true, Robin running over without thought, staring at Joker's closed hand. "I do, I do! I wanna see what you got her so badly!" He oozed childishness out his ears, oblivious to how helpless he appeared. Robin was too busy wanting to see Harley Quinn's present to notice anything now.

"Alllllllright! One birthday present, coming up!" Joker opened up his hand at an excruciatingly slow pace. Slowly, slowly, keeping Robin on the peak of excitement. Only to reveal there being nothing in his palm.

Robin was both saddened and puzzled, staring at his hand to try and see if there was a gift for her there until he heard the sound of something being thrown at him, head snapping up in time to see several pellets that exploded into gas on contact. He coughed, trying not to inhale as he covered his face but it was too late.

The Clown Prince of Crime felt the devilish grin he'd been hiding nearly take up his whole face. "It's going to be a nice, compact gift with plenty of charm and cuteness she'll love~" Joker promised, backing up a little as the pale purple gas rose, transfixed on the figure in the center struggling to stay on his feet.

The last thing Robin could hear was his own tiny, unheard sounds of dismay and pleads before his vision swam and his head met the pavement beneath him, the world going black.

。。。

Danielle was on the bed this time, blasting her poppy music as she decorated the bed with the remaining stuffed animals in her suitcase. Marie-Ann's only had some emergency things, including extra pendants of many varieties but Danielle hadn't had enough time in 4 days to get every stuffed animal she'd hurriedly packed onto the guest bed.

**"You know we're going to leave tomorrow or the day after, right?"**

Her sister hummed to the tune in response, fluffing up a small, white alicorn and adjusting a bean shaped cat. "It's still nice to get them all on here! They're all too cute to leave inside that stuffy suitcase for so long!" Danielle reasoned, giving a quick hug to a rather large cow.

Marie-Ann sighed, knowing it was impossible to get to her sister when cute things were involved. She could be more than reasonable, brilliant even when things were ordinary in appearance or attitude. However, once something was deemed "adorable" by her, all logic flew out the window, save for times when it was absolutely necessary to have it. **"Danielle, we need to focus. The Joker and Harleen will be bringing Batman here tonight and we need to practice and think of a plan."**

Danielle pouted, deciding to hug a sky blue pegasus in favor of fully listening to Marie-Ann. "You've been reading and practicing every night, Marie-Ann! I deserve a little me time too. Besides, I absolutely doubt that Batman is going to be someone your eyes can't crack open like an egg. My relaxation techniques probably won't be of much use considering that he's known for having plenty of training against ordinary mental barriers. Your hypno stuff is magic, it can pierce through anyone if you have enough time, will and power. You haven't used it on anyone but yourself for 8 and a half years. I doubt he'll have even a chance against you." She played with various stuffed animals as she spoke but kept her voice at a reasonable sound instead of staying in the even bubblier voice than usual she put on whenever something sweet caught her eye.

**"But we can't just rely on that, Danielle! Besides, in this case, your vocal imitation technique could work wonders! We've seen the clips we asked for from the Joker, if you started things off by putting his mind in a more trusting state through that technique, it will make my job much easier and the Joker all the more pleased. If we simply rely on my eyes, it may take awhile and I would rather not deal with a bored or irritated Joker. I hope you understand that."**

It definitely caught her attention. Danielle was surprised to find she hadn't really thought over a possibility of using her imitation technique on Batman. "Who am I supposed to use? I don't know who the heck he trusts." She admitted, going over to the mirror on the wall to see if she still looked decent. The word acorn came to mind as she had a brief memory of their mother calling them her little acorns because their skin was the color of a darker bottom and their hair and Danielle's freckles were the color of the top. The tones were complimented nicely by the professional black suit Marie-Ann insisted they wore. "It'd be different if I had more vocal samples of his teammates but the clips they showed us were silent. I don't know how to imitate voices I've never heard before."

Marie-Ann was about to say offer simply looking online for some videos of some sort instead of wasting her phone battery on annoying Japanese music when the door was knocked on.

Danielle quickly reached over, turning off her music and sliding her phone in their back pocket before she sat up on the bed. "Come on in!" She invited, hoping that they hadn't been called for their job just yet. Joker did so, waving at the two of them.

"Hi! Look at you, all dressed up and fancy, Miss..." He trailed off, still unable to tell the two of them apart.

"Dani! Or Danielle. Whatever you prefer!" Danielle finished, staying as friendly as possible. She was always forgiving but it had been 4 days already and their faces did look rather different.

Joker nodded in recognition, laughing a little. "Right, right. So, Dani, there's been a slight change in the plan." He began, sitting down on the bed and facing her. "Batman hasn't shown up for patrol or anything since we called you, so I decided to pull some improv skills and got you Robin instead!"

 **"WHAT?!"** Marie-Ann nearly screeched within the mind-space.

Danielle did her best to repress the urge to comfort Marie-Ann or refuse the job. She knew all too well how her sister would feel about this sudden change. "O-Oh! Well, um, Mister Joker-"

"That's not gonna be a problem for you ladies, is it?" Joker asked in the kind of testing tone that said yes was definitely not one of the possible answers they could give.

Marie-Ann was hyperventilating within the space, speaking in a panicked rush that betrayed her usual composure. **"Danielle, that's a CHILD, a child who isn't going to AGREE to this. I can't do this, I can't do that to a CHILD."** She was speaking half to herself and half to the sister that was forced to listen.

Danielle shook her head, keeping her always pleasant demeanor with her. "Not at all, Mister Joker! We are a professional hypno-therapeutic team and we can deal with anyone you need us to!" She lied smoothly, her hands on her lap as she squeezed them tight, hoping Marie-Ann could feel it.

**"NO! Danielle, we can't! I can't do this! Please, let's just ask him to leave, to wait until Batman shows up! PLEASE! PLEASE!!"**

Joker gave her a little pat on the head in approval. "Good girl. It does my heart to see someone listening to me for once. Everyone's been all over the place lately." He got up, smirking as he motioned downstairs. "Robin's right downstairs, all tied up and ready for ya. Harley and I are going to watch you guys do your thing. So hurry up and go down once you have what you need. See ya then!" He then got up, leaving the room and slamming it behind him.

Danielle watched the door shut and made sure he'd gone downstairs before she burst into tears, holding her hand against her mouth to muffle the sound. "Darn it...we're gonna have to do it, Marie...I'm sorry, there's no getting out of it...I'm sorry..."

。。。

Back downstairs, Joker prepared himself a great cup of coffee with a decent amount of crystal sugar and whipped cream on top, taking a sip and sighing with content. "Hey, girl buddy, this was a great idea! Getting someone else to do all the work for us for once. How did you never think of it before?" He turned to Harley, getting another gulp in.

"Those two haven't really crossed my mind in awhile! But I saw ya lookin tired and thought it might be time to get Batsy and the others under our control like that too. I tried callin' 'em before, but I don't think their phones were workin'." Harley explained, texting Ivy as she did so.

Joker let out a little sound of amusement, enjoying his caffeinated drink again. "Well, we have them now. And once I get out the answer to that little predicament with Robin, I think I'll use him as bait for Bat-brain. Once I have him, maybe we can use our lovely hypnotherapist to turn them against Gotham!" He swooned at the thought, a blush coming onto his cheeks. "Imagine that! A loyal, obedient Batsy and his toy wonder! The two of them helping us take over the whole city! Maybe even Metropolis too!"

Harley grinned hearing him scheme like he used to. "Sounds like fun, puddin' pop! We can use 'em for all the borin' stuff and rob all the banks we like while they do it!" She suggested, loving the idea of being able to buy Ivy some golden gardening supplies.

Joker burst into full on maniacal laughter at that, already imagining Gotham on it's hands and knees once Batman was under his thumb.

Robin sat on the metal chair across from them, pockets emptied, phone in one of the garbage cans back at the alleyway. Had he been conscious, he would have been panicking, trying to call out for his father. But for now, he was still on the chair and was in a dream where his new family sang him the cursed song, "Happy Birthday".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Marie-Ann is not at ALL happy about this little modification. You'll see why soon. Next chapter's going to be about the media's reaction to Robin's call and the Batfam dealing with Robin's kidnapping. Hope it'll be a little lighter than this one! 
> 
> My instagram's thebatjokesonyou in case any of you ever wanna say hi! I love all your comments and read them a whole bunch, so thank you for them!!


	4. A Bird in the Hand...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A kinda longish chapter that's meant to sorta act as a gateway to the other ones. I'm so surprised this many people are interested in this lil story. And if you really like Marie/Dani and their backstory, you might really like my other fic, "1, 2, Free" that I'm writing about Good Cop/Bad Cop!

On the other side of Gotham, specifically Wayne Manor, Batman was fast asleep in his King sized bed. His hair was a fluffy, raven mess, sprawled out all over an expensive, steel gray pillow. He began to stir, his body trying to express that it was tired of sleeping, that he'd had enough at this point and that he should at least watch TV.

Bruce was completely unaware that his long trusted butler, Alfred Pennyworth, was starting to feel dread as the minutes passed from Robin's usual text responses. It wasn't that there couldn't be a plain excuse for Robin simply not responding right away but the more time went on, the slimmer the chance became that it was simply harmless.

He'd give Robin one more hour before he requested help from Barbra and the others. Alfred was going to do his absolute best to make sure that Bruce didn't try and run and find his son.

。。。

It took about a half hour for Danielle to finally go downstairs. She'd made sure there was no trace of the earlier breakdown, freshened up and absolutely calm. Several soothing and convincing words later and her sister quietly agreed to assist when she was needed. "It's good they have us. We won't hurt him, we'll make sure they won't hurt him either." Danielle had insisted, knowing where the panic attack had come from.

Marie-Ann was trying so hard not to remember it as she watched Danielle go down the steps, Joker and Harley snapping their attention to her. So, so hard to just think of other things as Danielle turned to the sleeping Robin on the chair. So, so, so hard to forget it, keep it far away from her mind when Joker laughed at the young super's sleeping figure.

It was impossible to distract herself from the memories that forced their way into the shared mind space. Years and years ago, after their mother passed away not long after they had turned 6. When they were 10 and Danielle was struggling to hide Marie-Ann, having to insist that her sister hadn't come out when their father asked if she had. The fateful night when he caught Marie-Ann reading in the darkness, her crimson eyes illuminating the pages in a low, hypnotic glow. When he had grabbed the back of her neck, forcing her to sit at the "family" table and use a hand-mirror to stare at her tearful reflection, Danielle internally screaming all the while.

_"I want you to stare at this mirror, Marie-Ann. I want you to drill this into your mind until you never forget it. You are NOT my daughter. Danielle is my daughter. You are a mistake. You are a freak. You got it, you demon? You're a FREAK. A **FREAK**."_

Currently, Danielle's hand soothingly stroked the side of Robin's face, eyes searching his face sympathetically if only for the fact that she couldn't do it to her sister. "You'll need to wake him up for this." She said after taking in the situation one last time. "Gently. We can't scare him too much or he'll be too difficult to control." That wasn't entirely true but Danielle knew this would be easier on her sister if he wasn't so frightened.

Joker, oblivious to the heavy emotions he was forcing onto his new assistants, walked over and pat the side of his face, doing his best not to do it too hard. "C'mon kid, wake up! The birthday party can't start without ya~" He teased, knowing Harley'd be amused once he explained the alleyway scene to her.

Robin's eyes slowly slid open, blinking several times as he did so, visions of kryptonite filled birthday cake, a jet-pack wearing Joker signing adoption papers and a pants-less Batman doing a little birthday dance leaving his muddled brain. "Wha...where am I...?" He barely choked out, head raising up on it's own in a futile attempt to gain some control of the situation.

"You're safe, Robin. Just open your eyes." Danielle assured, deepening her voice slightly as she went into session mode. The technique Marie-Ann had mentioned earlier was definitely going to be used now. She thought of Batman's voice, having heard it just a few times before. The tone and sound fit Marie-Ann much more but Danielle knew her older sister needed a little more time.

Robin obeyed, feeling a strange bit of comfort from the woman's words, his eyes open as he was finally fully awake. "Huh? Who're you?" He asked, not having expected her at all. "Are you Harley in disguise?" He was guessing but genuinely thought it could be. A part of him was still reasoning that today was Harley's birthday and he was her present.

Danielle giggled, unable to hold back because of his cuteness. She was already beginning to like him more than she was supposed to. "My name is Miss Danielle. I'm here to get some answers and make sure you're doing absolutely okay." Explained the therapist, giving Robin a small pat on the head.

Robin cocked his head to the side like a puppy whose ball had gone and vanished. "Get some answers? But I thought this was a birthday party!" He exclaimed, eyes searching the room to indeed see balloons and a discarded cake. Robin had no idea that those were always there.

**"He's so sweet. Dear Man Upstairs, we're going to have to make sure he's absolutely safe. Use your vocal technique to put him more at ease. I'll tell you when I'm ready."**

Danielle was nearly giddy at the reactions the two had so far. "Well, we're setting up the birthday party still! See, they brought in a hypnotist to put on a show but she hasn't come out yet and in order to volunteer, we need a few questions answered." She then paused, realizing she hadn't really asked if he wanted to volunteer.

"Ooh! Ooh! Okay! I'll definitely answer questions if I get to be in a real hypnotist show!" Robin eagerly nodded his head, having heard of such events but never actually gone to one. The thought of being able to participate in it was absolutely incredible.

Knowing that reaction had put Marie-Ann at ease, Danielle decided to do less of the technique, not wanting to sound ridiculous (the sister's voices were almost exactly opposite of each others, so it was best not to attempt to imitate Batman unless Marie could) and simply ask questions. "Alright. First question! How do you feel about Batman?"

。。。

Seven questions with eager answers later and Marie-Ann was finally ready to put Robin under her control. In the process, Danielle learned two things. First, that she needed to consider trying to convince her sister to legally adopt a child. (Her argument of them having been "practically orphans" as children hadn't worked in the slightest, so she was starting to think empathy was a better route to drag her down) And second, that she found Robin's honesty and excitement both charming and alarming for someone in this line of work.

Before she could ask anything else, her peripheral vision picked up on an annoyed, impatient Joker watching her in the background with a glare. He tapped his wrist, imitating a watch that wasn't on it. Time was definitely up, there was no option to wait anymore.

**"It's alright. I'm certain I can do this now, Danielle. Thank you for being so considerate of me and my feelings but stalling any longer could bring some unwanted reaction by the Joker."**

Unable to argue and knowing full well there was no reason try and deny it, Danielle made eye contact with the young side-kick, giving the faintest of smiles. "Alright, Robin. You did a really good job giving me answers and now, it's time for the hypnotist to finally put you in her show." She explained, trying not to give away her emotions. Danielle was growing tired of feeling so much and being on edge while they were on this job and the last thing they needed was a resistant Robin.

Luckily, the truth was unknown to the trusting boy-wonder who had also began to grow attached to the therapist. His eyes lit up with excitement hearing that the hypnotist had arrived, head moving around to try and get a look at her. "Oh boy! Where is she, Miss Danielle? I wanna meet her for sure!"

With the confirmation that Robin was excited to meet her, Marie-Ann switched in, face to face with the bound boy in front of her. She stifled a gasp or cringe, a wave of nostalgia she'd been trying to bury suddenly coming back up again.

Robin's eyes grew impossibly wide, jaw having dropped at the sight. "Whoa, you guys share the same _body_? That's really cool!" He wriggled around in the hold, pupil's shining up at Marie's in complete amazement.

Joker snickered, thinking about how Robin was so absolutely eager to meet his doom. He was already thinking about all the plans he'd been making as he watched, imagining Joker insignias all over Gotham, a smiling Batman and Joker helping to ruin their beloved city. A pleased sigh left him while he got lost in dream land, sinking into the couch he sat on.

Marie-Ann had given a little nod at Robin before something sparked within her mind. She had a detailed plan that would protect Robin and Batman's secret identities and keep them from staying under Joker's thumb. But they had to act precisely and had to know Batman's secret identity. "Robin, I need you to give me your full attention, just as you did for my sister. Can you do that for me?" She inquired, putting her thumb under his chin to look up.

Robin nodded, unable to fight the elated expression coming to his face. "Whatever you need, Miss Hypnotist! I'm real glad to participate! I just wish my BatDad was here to see it, too." He frowned, remembering that Batman was still resting at home and would miss the entire adventure.

_"Marie, I think we're thinking of the same plan, so, if we're gonna do this, we gotta do it now before Joker suspects that anything's off."_

Marie-Ann turned back to Joker, ignoring the father comment in favor of not being buried alive in harmful memories. "If you want Robin to be entranced, you'll have to leave the room." She said quickly, keeping a calm, convincing tone.

"What? How come?" Joker sat up, whining at the new information. "I wanted to see the bird-brain go brainless!" Now it was a huff, complete with a crossing of the arms to emphasize his absolute unhappiness.

"I don't think you'd like to be under my spell, Joker." Marie-Ann clarified, doing her best to not sound like she was challenging him. The last thing she wanted was to become a target like the Bat. "His eyes will reflect my hypnotic glow and you'd be under heavy risk of going under yourself. There's too many opportunities of something going wrong, as I'll have all my attention focused on him. So if someone were to attempt to harm you in the mean time..." She knew he could put two and two together.

Joker groaned, getting up and grabbing the still texting Harley. "Fine! But you better make it quick or I'll interrupt, hypno-eyes or not!" He promised, leaving the building in order to give them some space.

Harley was so lost in messaging Ivy, she didn't even realize she was being dragged by her skates to the outside world.

_"Perfect. This shouldn't take too long anyways. We just need time to put him under but once that's done, it should be smooth sailing! Speaking of which, maybe it'd be good if you started..."_

Seeing the door completely shut, Marie-Ann turned back to Robin, feeling some regret and hesitation bubble inside her but swallowed it all down. "Robin, let me quickly explain something to you. I cannot make you do anything you truly don't want to do under hypnosis. You have nothing to fear, I have no ill intentions for you." She sighed through her nose, her heart beat slowing down as she made eye contact with the boy again.

Robin stared up curiously, having heard her but unsure what she was going to do. Didn't hypnotists use those fancy golden pocket watches? When was she going to tell him that he was feeling sleepy, very sleepy? He nearly asked more questions but then they were quickly answered by a bright, soothing red glow.


	5. Keep Your Eyes On it, Pretty Birdy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy Cinco De Mayo! This is a chapter mostly devoted to the actual hypnotism process. Being a former vocal hypnotist/fan of hypnotism, I thought it would be nice to include and my hypno-fans deserve it for the lack of actual hypnotism in this fic. If you've got any other recommendations or questions, I love comments a whole bunch!
> 
> Side note, I might do a lil spin off for Marie-Ann and Dani after this fic but we'll see! You guys seem to like them and I do think it'd be fun to put them in the center of a fic, especially since the focus will be off of them in later chapters. We'll see!

At first, Dick had felt confused, a sense of panic nearly forming until a wave of warmth went through him. His mind briefly flashed to the first time his Batdad had given him a hug. The soothing, comforting moment seemed to wash away the fear. His mouth became ajar, eyes wide as he couldn't help but want to see more of the red.

Marie-Ann stayed absolutely focused, knowing she couldn't pour out all the power that'd been locked away for so long. It was practically the same as turning on a water fountain that'd been collecting after 3 monsoons. The urge to let loose and turn Robin into a drooling, totally open minded victim was tempting until she reminded herself that he'd done no wrong, was a child and she needed to stick to the plan to protect both him and her sister. "That's a good boy, Robin. Goooood booooooy. Keep your eyes on mine. Let yourself sink into it, leaving the world you know behind."

Somehow, the warmth from earlier was even better. It was like a hug that covered every inch of him, a nurturing vibe that he couldn't get enough of. A smile crept onto his face, the googles reflecting the absolute red for a moment before his eyes were half lidded. "Ah...~" The near exhale escaped him as words couldn't be formed at this point.

Marie-Ann knew practically everything when it came to hypnosis, mesmerism and it's psychological, physical and even social sister occurrences. She'd been hypnotized more than once by herself and a handful of people she absolutely trusted. That being said, her magic induced hypnotism was a bit different than the traditional type.

Normally, under ordinary hypnotism, Robin would still be able to hear and see what was going on around him but simply wouldn't respond or his mind simply ignored it all for hypnosis. This was a whole different ballgame, however. The intensity caused by the magic enveloped the mind, giving his vision a red tint, an almost dreamy state of mind taking over him. She could tear his mind apart like cotton candy and he wouldn't have a care in the world.

During her sessions, Marie-Ann would have talked a lot more but for such an underdeveloped mind and a limited amount of time, she decided to speed things along by pouring out a little more of her reserve. It was risky and liable to tap her out quicker but it'd do for now. "Robin, I'm going to ask for your full obedience. You need to answer my questions honestly and do whatever I say. Under this trance, you will not have any such loyalty to anyone else. Nod if you understand."

Of course, the blissful boy wonder nodded in recognition about two seconds after she asked. There was no way he could disagree with the beautiful ruby hue around him.

"Good boy. Now, I need you remembered what happened 4 days ago when Joker lit the building on fire. Batman got himself trapped and then you said you were going to save your dads. Did you mean to say dads and not dad?" Marie-Ann asked for clarification, keeping her plan in mind at all times.

Robin nodded once more, recalling the entire incident in his mind. The fire, the news, Joker, it all felt so far away but he could picture it clearly through the red lens. A part of him, deep within was growing to love this feeling of being entranced.

 _"Marie, I think he's pretty out of it. Maybe you should stop feeding him so much so his brain doesn't turn into scrambled eggs. Plus, if everything goes okay, you'll be hypnotizing someone else soon, so you need your strength."_ Dani suggested, her concern for them both clearly showing.

Marie-Ann's eyes went back to the dull crimson they usually were, giving a small sigh of relief when Robin's eyes kept up a light red shine through the goggles. So far so good. Thanks to Danielle, she hadn't spilled everything out. She made a mental note to thank her sister later but put her attention back on Robin for now. "If you know Batman's secret identity, tell me in a whisper." Seeing him start to speak, she quickly leaned in to hear it.

"Bruce Wayne." The name was a hushed confession, breathless as Robin was unable to think at all for himself.

Marie-Ann straightened her back up again, happy to have gotten the information. "And that's who you meant when you referred to more than one father, correct?" She'd hypothesized as much when Joker had explained that Batman had only carried out Robin and the online news article about the subject said there'd been no casualties.

Once again, Robin gave a lethargic nod. His brain was swimming in the pleasure, still thinking about that day but unable to focus or put emotions into it. Now, it was a bad dream that could be vividly remembered.

 _"Bruce Wayne, got it. The plan is on!"_ Unable to stay completely serious, Danielle giggled at the thrill of actually pulling this off.

Marie-Ann rolled her eyes at her sister's excitement, making another note to scold her for being so loud when she needed to concentrate. "While you are under my control, if anyone asks about Batman's identity, you'll say you don't know who he is. You did mean to refer to Bruce Wayne and Batman but they are only co-partners in raising you because they had both been with your mother. They have no romantic feelings for each other and cannot stand being in the same room together. On the day of the fire, Bruce Wayne narrowly escaped out of a window and into the..." The hypnotist paused to conceive something believable. "... _Batcopter_ on the other side. You still thought he was in danger, so you went in to rescue them both. You don't know why Bruce Wayne was there but you will know he had been in the building while it was burning. Take a moment to digest all of this information and nod when it has fully sunken in." She carefully instructed, knowing the narrative may have taken a moment to get.

Suddenly, the memory of four days ago was fading away, replaced by a different vision. There's Dad and he's stuck in the building and Batdad goes in to save him. Robin can't stand it after awhile. _"I'M COMING TO SAVE YOU, DADS!"_ But instead, he was saved by his Batdad and didn't see Dad but knew that he'd been saved when he could hear the distant sound of a helicopter before his world turns to black.

Robin's head bobbed up and down after a longer pause than his other responses, his mind accepting this reality for now.

Marie-Ann jolted at the sound of banging knocks on the door Joker left through. Time's up. "Alright, Robin. Remember, you will only be able to be truly honest and open with me, no one else. Not even if they ask you to be. Not until you awaken." She hurriedly re-instructs him.

 _"You did it, Marie! Remember, I need to switch in soon."_ Danielle piped up just as Joker re-entered the room alone.

"Girl-buddy decided to go visit Ivy again. Ugh." Joker sticked his tongue out in disapproval before he brightened up again at the scene in front of him, a toothy grin spreading across his face. "But that doesn't matter right now! Did you crack that egg for me?"

Danielle switched in, giving him a sweet little giggle in return. "Why, yes we did! It was really fun too! And we left him all ready for your questions, Mr.Joker!" She confirmed, stepping back to show Robin off.

Still tied to the chair, Robin's head leaned forward, a mouth unable to do anything but drool a little and express the joy of being inducted by Marie-Ann. His eyes were nearly shut, the small amount of red light reflecting from his eyes being unable to put anyone under unless they stared for quite some time and were lulled by someone else to go deeper.

Joker skipped over, grabbing him by his jaw and lifting his head up without hesitation, loving the stupefied little face he was making. "It's beautiful! Oh, Batsy'd be furious if he saw his precious birdy like this!" He swooned, squishing Robin's cheeks together.

Danielle unconsciously bit her lip, wanting to slap Joker's hands away from him. She was beginning to like him less and less, in all honesty. The truth, however, would endanger Robin right now, so she kept herself in check. Danielle focused on the touches to Robins face so much that she nearly didn't hear Joker's question.

"Have you thought of working as a secretary?" The Clown suddenly asked, still playing with Robin's rosy little cheeks. "I could really use one with Harley going all green thumbed and goo-goo eyed."

**"Danielle, let me-"**

"I would work for you, sir, but unfortunately, I'm obsessed with this girl who works at Gotham University." Danielle confessed, her hand playing with her hair. "She's got lots of freckles and a short ginger hair cut and the sweetest little giggles I've ever heard. And I'd love to come and be your secretary but I'm really set on giving her all my attention." A heavy blush went across her face, something that couldn't have been faked.

Marie-Ann was stuttering internally, the dots connecting in her mind. She recalled having been coerced into another one of her self hypnosis sessions while they had been studying at G.U. 10 years ago. Bathroom mirror, Danielle put her to sleep to ease her nerves and took over. When she woke up, Danielle had been a flustered mess at home, constantly putting her hand to her mouth like she'd touched something with those lips. While Marie was unable to look, had she been...?

Joker tsked in disappointment. "Oh well. It's still nice to know I've got a hypnotist and a therapist when I need one! You'll still be very handy. Handy Dani!" He cackled at his own joke, loving how cute it was. Once he found some calm, he gave his attention back to Robin. "Now, can I ask the boy plunder a couple of questions about that awful little day?"

Marie-Ann would have smirked, knowing Robin's answers but she was too busy being worried about what her sister had done with that Ashlyn girl. She quietly hoped that after all this was done that Danielle would give her some answers.

Fortunately, there was a certain British butler who was also very worried for his own family member. He would get his own answers and in the process, Marie-Ann would get hers.


	6. Isn't This Super?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh geez. Wow. Yeah, this ain't gonna be an easy, stress free chapter. Wow. A lot of drama and final straws. Warning for an censored but still rough recalling of Marie's past and a sorta extreme Joker.

Superman wasn't the kind of guy who liked to be blunt. When people asked him questions he didn't enjoy, he'd dance around them like a young, experienced ballerina. Perhaps not with the most grace but admirable and charming nevertheless. With that winning smile of his, it was difficult not to believe him and call it a day. This time, however, he would have to do the equivalent of a triple spin and backflip in order to properly dance away from this question.

"Are you and Batman an item?" Gotham's star reporter, Miss Janet, inquired. "Because we believe from some anonymous sources and our own observations that there may be some sort of romance between the two of you."

Now, there were 2 ways of dealing with this situation. He could dash away and look suspicious or attempt to come up with some explanation that didn't make him look homophobic. Not that Superman was actually against homosexuals or anything but he certainly wasn't one himself. (That factor was only changed by exposure to pink kryptonite, which Superman was almost sure Batman didn't have. Almost.) And perhaps if he said it in just the wrong way, people would assume it was denial and that would open up a whole can of worms that could attract some pretty big fish.

While Superman contemplated one of the most difficult to answer questions he'd encountered in the last several months, there was a sudden sound coming from the news truck. Janet ran over, checking the live action feed the computer should have been showing. It had turned into Joker's devilish face, making her absolutely scowl.

"HELLO, GOTHAM CITY!" Joker greeted, waving to the camera, as eager as he usually would be. "I have an announcement to make! I am interested in one Bruce Wayne!" He walked away from the camera, coming back with a limp Robin, holding him by the neck and showed off the oblivious boy. "Lookie what I have here! One sleepy birdie! A sleepy birdie who can't be woken up by anyone but me! If Gotham would like their favorite side-kick, second only to Harley of course, back on his wings, then I need Bruce Wayne to show up alone!" Joker pulled out a crayon colored map, putting it right up against the screen before setting it down. "You have 2 hours, Wayne! Anyone comes to save you and I'll make sure your baby bird never flies again!" He finished his evil monologue with some maniacal laughter before the screen went to static.

Superman and Janet shared a quick look. They both didn't know jack about what was going on but they did know it wasn't going to be good.

。。。

Bruce Wayne had never shot up so hard off of his couch in his life. He was dizzy from the action and his leg throbbed in disapproval but still managed to get to his bedroom when Alfred came in.

"Sir-" The butler began before he was quickly cut off.

"Alfred, I need to go get him." Batman insisted, looking through the closet before finding something he could hide a few weapons in. "I'll go alone, make Joker release him and then beat him into the wall for making him think this was even slightly okay to do."

"Sir-"

Batman slammed his fist on his nightstand, forcing the drawer with some emergency pellets and various things small enough to fit into his inner and outer pockets to open up and reveal everything inside. "What gave him the idea that he could do that to Robin? Kidnap me, kidnap some other citizen, I get. But kidnapping Robin's just unfair. It's wrong." He shook his head to himself, lightly trembling as he walked quickly to the bathroom, trying to freshen up.

"Master Br-"

"He probably knows Robin's secret identity, probably knows my own. I don't know when or where he learned magic like that but he clearly knows more than he should." Batman lost his usual rationality, his ability to at least put most of his emotions away. His hair was slicked back, face washed, suit straightened. Classic Bruce Wayne look. He couldn't give Joker the impression that he was weak.

"Good luck, Master Bruce."

Bruce was caught off guard by Alfred holding up his mask, setting it down on the bed. "Alfred..." He murmured in both awe and confusion.

Alfred sighed, shaking his head to himself. "I'd rather you trust Barbra and I to take care of this but Robin's your son. And if anyone did something like this to you, I'd be the first one on the scene. Just stay off your leg as much as possible, put the car on autopilot. Make sure both you and Robin come home. No matter what, the safety of you both is what matters the most. He needs you too." The older man reminded, not wanting Bruce to completely turn himself in and give up to make sure Robin escaped. Robin needed him and Alfred'd be long gone before he let Batman forget that fact.

Bruce stared at the mask, knowing he couldn't put it on but would know exactly where it was when he needed it. He picked it up, planning on keeping it and the rest of the bat-suit in the car. "Thanks, Alfred." The billionaire's phone went off then and Bruce picked it up, having a feeling as to who it was.

"I know you saw the news, Bruce. Alfred told me about your leg. You need to stay put." Barbra calmly instructed, using her authoritative voice to do so. She knew as well as Alfred that he'd go running off after something like that.

Bruce handed his phone to Alfred, knowing he couldn't risk it getting into Joker's hands in the first place. "I'll find a way to get Robin out and he can help the two of you get me. But I have to do this part alone." He insisted, walking to the car and ignoring the sounds of protest coming from his phone. "Computer, I need my suit and the delta weapons in my standard car. I'll give you the directions in the car, I need autopilot."

Alfred picked up the phone, speaking into it. "Trust him, please, Miss Barbra. I know Bruce. He'll do all he can to get Robin out of trouble and if he can't save himself, we'll be the first to know."

The argument died the minute the sound of a car speeding out of the drive way reached Bruce Wayne's phone.

。。。

Joker was a happy clown when Danielle told him that Robin could do tricks on command. He'd seen him move during fights but it wasn't nearly as entertaining as this. "Do another backflip!" The clown was more than amused, clapping his hands giddily.

Robin obeyed without hesitation, landing right on his feet. It was easier than usual with the mental limitations being gone and his body simply carrying out the motions.

Joker laughed, still unable to get used to how much power he held over him. "Perfect, absolutely perfect!" He praised, getting up and giving Robin's hair a tussle before taking him by the arm, pulling Robin onto the couch as he sat down. "Dani? May I ask you two a little question?"

Danielle had been staring around but immediately gave Joker her attention when she was called. "Of course! There's nothing I'd wanna hide from you, sir." She faced the chair she was sitting in in his direction, still a bit on edge.

The high class criminal nodded approvingly, keeping a hand on Robin as he spoke. "Where did your other half learn how to do the glowy eye thing? Was she bitten by a radioactive glow-stick or something? Drank radioactive cranberry juice? Dove into a pool of radioactive-"

Marie-Ann switched in, unable to take it any longer. "I was born with these powers. My mother had a gift for magic and my biological father managed to have a gene capable of carrying the magic on, even if he himself lacked such abilities." She explained, not wanting to mention her father's envy or disgust for said powers.

Joker raised an eyebrow at that, knowing he'd struck a nerve. And he always enjoyed the reactions to that. " _Biological_ dad? You had another one?" He poked at the little nerve, wanting to see her come undone.

Having someone who studied psychology live in the same body as her made her more than able to see what he was doing. But knowing it'd upset Danielle, she decided to humor him. "Yes. We ran away from home at 12 and found ourselves in London. An elderly man who ran a magic show took us in when he found us in the theater. He also further educated me about my potential. I consider him more of a father than my biological one." She spoke politely, preferring to talk about him much more.

"What do you think bio dad would say if he saw this?" Joker pointed to Robin, who had completely slouched over on the couch, staring at the ceiling in full content.

_"Don't do this, Marie. Let me switch in, lie, don't do this. It's not worth getting back at me."_

"He'd laugh." Marie-Ann responded curtly, a demented sort of smirk coming to her face. "He'd say I proved him right. That labeling me as no better, worse than him was perfect. That Danielle was always the good girl and I was always the demon she was stuck with." She stood up, getting the chair Robin had been sitting in and dragged it over to her own. "He'd say that this, _this_ was just like what he'd do to me."

_"Marie-Ann, please! Stop this, you're giving him what he wants!"_

"He spent hours slapping me and yelling at my face because he knew anything else would hurt Danielle. Dani, his pride and joy, the one that reminded him of his dead wife." Marie-Ann let out a loud "HA!" before her face went straight again. "One of his favorite things to do to me was pull out this hand mirror he stole from mom's room." She was shaking but her voice had an eerie calm to it, just as emotionless as it usually was. "He'd make me stare it with these cursed eyes of mine and believe in nightmares. It took him minutes to make me think there were monsters that'd come out if I ever switched in, that I was just a figment of Danielle's imagination, that I had been the one who made my mother a crumpled, _bleeding_ mess in the snow. Every issue, every mistake, every problem for 6 years was my fault. I couldn't even end my life because I'd take Danielle with me. And she was an angel, she didn't deserve that." At some point, tears had started rolling down her cheeks but she wasn't aware of them. "On some nights, I see those visions, warped versions of reality I was told were true. Daddy couldn't do much but he could tell a good story, he could make one up. That's how I got my excellent skills. From years and years of being shattered on the inside, over and over until he left. It took me two years, two years to convince myself that it was finally safe to leave that horrible house because the last thing he ever told me was," Her voice dropped down to a broken whisper, a trembling hand pointing to some imaginary line on the floor. "If you ever leave this house, if you ever cross that line, I'll jump right out of the bushes and gut you like a pig so no one ever has to see your disgusting face. Stay inside, Marie-Ann. **Stay inside**."

Danielle switched in, having finally gotten no resistance from Marie, collapsing to the floor because her knees had simply given out. She did her best to catch her breath, feeling the full effects of what Marie-Ann had caused the body to feel.

The Joker got onto his feet, clapping wildly with the biggest grin Danielle'd ever seen. "Bravo! Bellissimo! I've never seen such a moving performance in my life!" He praised, nudging Robin with his elbow. "Clap for the woman, Robin! She deserves all the applause she can get!"

Robin clapped vigorously, his bangs hiding his eyes now but his face still reflected his bliss.

Danielle felt like she was going to vomit. She got to her feet before quickly sitting in a chair, still trying to calm the body and herself. "Why-why would you-?" She was trying to ask someone, anyone the question but couldn't quite get the words out clearly.

Joker wiped away some tear in his eye, telling Robin to quit his clapping before he walked over to the exhausted therapist. "You're very boring, you know. Trying to please me, acting like you're not hiding things. It's so boring. I needed something honest, exciting! And your sister, she definitely knows how to deliver. That was almost as good as Batsy and his occasional meltdowns! Almost." He jovially poked Danielle's forehead, walking around her. "Once I get Brucey under my thumb, I think I'm gonna follow ol' Daddy's advice! I'll be having fun and making up stories with a very open audience~"

Danielle got up, running to the bathroom and barely made it in time to puke up every bit of breakfast they'd had. And had Marie-Ann been in the body, she would have been doing it much harder.


	7. Bye Bye Batsy! (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! Alright. Fun times ahead! Starts a lil serious but things should be lighter from here on out. Comments and kudos are always appreciated! I'm sorry this fic's not perfect but I swear, I'll give it a great ending! Oh, and happy Mothers Day!

Bruce Wayne showed up at the hideout at a time that wouldn't seem suspiciously like Batman but had definitely been a rush. It had taken everything in him to ask the autopilot to go at a decent pace, rather than blow up every car on the road to get to Robin faster. He nearly jumped out of the car once it was parked, walking towards the entrance quickly. This technically wasn't his first time entering the place but he couldn't do anything else and risk endangering Robin. For now, he'd play along.

Joker, unsurprisingly, walked right out of his place once Bruce was only a few steps away. "Hello, Brucey! So nice to see you again!" Still very giddy, Joker pushed the door to make room. "Robin's all tied up at the moment but you can check up on him if you'd like~" He coo'd teasingly, shutting and locking up the door behind him.

Robin had been re-tied to the chair and Bruce could see some woman he'd never met sitting across from him on the couch, her eyes turned to the ground. The boy wonder's usual big, adorable eyes were nearly shut and whatever bits of his pupils could be seen gave off a red hue, reflecting right off his googles. He let out a happy sigh at absolutely nothing, head lolling a little as if he were simply having a good dream.

Bruce walked quickly, mainly because of needing to get to Robin and partially because his leg was starting to hurt. He checked his he pulse on his neck and head, eyes searching Robin's for any sign of recognition. It took a lot in him to refrain from punching something when Bruce saw that he wasn't going to respond.

"He's dreaming right now." The curly haired brunette spoke up, voice soft. "The only person he could hear would be either me or Joker if we made sure to say his name first. But he's okay. There's been no damage done to his psyche or physical mind."

"Are you the one who did this to him?" Bruce turned to her, his voice accusing while his hand was still on the dazed Robin's cheek.

Joker walked back over, laughing as he did so. "Oh no, Brucey. The hypnotist did it! I wish it could have been me but, of all the tricks this clown got to learn, hypnotism wasn't one of them! Hatter's off doing something boring and wouldn't have done nearly as good a job as the professional anyways. Magic! Ahhh, I gotta try and find a bomb to make out of it!" He actually took out a small, beat up notepad and pencil from his pocket, sounding out the sentence. "Make...bomb...from...magic..."

Bruce glared daggers at him, standing up. "Where is the hypnotist, then? And when can he un-do what he's done to Robin?" His hands clenched into tight fists, hating how helpless he felt. Batman could have done this in no time at all but Robin would have suffered for it. The sooner he could get Robin home, the better.

The brunette flinched, biting her lip before she spoke up again. "She's...she'll be ready in a second. She's still not feeling well. But it'll only be a second. Just give her some time to calm down." She promised, her hand playing with her hair as she spoke.

Joker gave a chortle at that, having to put his hands on his mouth to try and keep himself from breaking down with absolute, rolling laughter.

"What's so funny?" Bruce asked, his voice dangerously close to resembling Batman's voice as it hit that dark low pitch it always did when he wanted to beat information out of some goon.

Danielle knew he'd give himself away soon and that Marie-Ann needed to act fast. "Please, Marie. Everything'll fall apart if you don't come out and deal with this. I'm sorry, you know I wouldn't ask if I could do it myself, but..."

**"No. It's fine. I deserve to work myself through this after what I did to us out of spite. Forgive me, Danielle. I'm truly sorry."**

"M-Marie! I should apologize!" Danielle insisted, not noticing she was as loud as she was. "I should have told you about Ashlyn, but...!" She bit her lip, holding back the truth and regaining some sense.

Bruce gave his attention to her again, curious and concerned by her near shouts. He swallowed down the very Batman like urge to ask if everything was alright and consider taking something from his belt. Instead, Bruce simply stared.

**"We can discuss this later, Danielle. The plan and it's completion are what matter the most to us now. I'm switching in."**

Danielle nodded quickly, sniffling and wiping away the droplets that had began to form in her eyes. "O-Okay. Good luck." The last part of the sentence was a whisper, eyes shutting as she calmed herself and the body down.

Marie-Ann switched in, catching Bruce off guard as pink, puffy eyes with dull red pupils locked onto Bruce's baby blues. "I'm the hypnotist, Mr. Wayne. And I have no interest in harming your child, so long as you are compliant to my wishes." Her glare narrowed at the sight of two idiot men (because she knew they were stupidly hiding and doing things they didn't have to), one gawking and the other grinning at her.

Bruce glared right back at her. "I thought Joker was the one who ran things around here. When did you become the ring leader?" He smirked, trying to bring some Bruce Wayne charm as he didn't want Joker even slightly suspecting he was the all-too-serious Dark Knight.

Joker cackled and shook his head. "No, no Brucey! She's just taking care of all the boring parts! I'll get to mess around for the fun parts!" The clown explained, nudging Bruce with his elbow.

Marie-Ann nodded, kneeling down to make eye contact with Robin. "Robin, say, 'Hi, Dad' to Mr. Wayne for me." She commanded, pleased to let Bruce know that she had just as much, if not more power than Joker.

"Hi Dad." Robin repeated, staring straight at Bruce with an almost inhuman yet disturbingly giddy face. He couldn't register the emotions radiating from his adopter parent, still lost in his wonderful haze.

Giving Robin a quick pat on the head in approval, Marie-Ann got back up, her hand lingering on his hair. "If you would like him out of my hands, then you'll listen to Joker's demands and I'll make sure he's home before we deal with you."

Bruce held back the urge to spit in her face. She didn't scare him but the thought of Robin being stuck like that was terrifying. "What do you need me to do?" He asked, keeping some of his calm but his set jaw and tense body gave it all away.

"You're gonna sit pretty in the chair she gives you and let her turn you into the drooling idiot Robin is! And I'll be escorting him back to your little neck of the woods, so if I hear word you get out of line while I'm gone..." Joker sported a devilishly cheshire grin. "Well, the I'd hope that Birdies can fly with a broken wing or two."

Bruce sat down in the chair that had been nudged near him, not flinching when Marie-Ann began to tie him to it with almost expert precision. "No need to threaten me. I'll be right here, completely obedient for you." He promised, hating how easily the last sentence came out. The billionaire was pretty desperate, in all honesty.

Marie-Ann went back to Robin, untying him instead. "Robin, get up and walk over to the door." She instructed, walking behind him when he did so. "You will walk home with the Joker when he takes your hand and leads you ahead. When you step inside the mansion, you will awake from your trance and recall everything both in and out of this state of mind. You will only forget the location of this place and the journey you took back home." Marie-Ann commanded him loud enough for them both to hear.

Danielle switched in then, making eye contact. "I'm sorry, Robin. I really am." The therapist then hugged him tightly, slipping a business card into the sleeve of his glove and dropped her voice to a whisper. "Robin, don't lose the card in your sleeve and keep it hidden from Joker." She then pulled away, switching Marie-Ann back in.

Joker skipped over to Robin, turning back to his unrecognizable nemesis. "You heard her, Brucey! Best behavior or it's worm breath junior who suffers!" He threatened, nearly snatching Robin's hand. "C'mon, Red Robin! I know the exact way to your Daddy's big ol' mansion from here!"

Bruce watched them leave, his heart straining against his chest. His detective skills were quickly deducing that Marie-Ann and her sister really meant no harm to Robin but it was difficult to deduce how they felt about him. Bruce could absolutely tell they were two separate people, if only for their different expressions and body language.

Marie-Ann didn't look back at him until the door was shut and she sighed aloud. "I apologize for the situation. My sister and I are extremely unhappy to be here and were never warned that we could possibly dealing with a child. Had the consequences been any less severe, we would never have agreed to cooperate. But I'm sure, in your line of work, you understand that sacrifices have to be made for the ones you love." She sat in the couch across from him, making no move to untie him.

"Does Joker know?" Bruce responded, feeling a strange relief and anxiety from the thought of these girls knowing who he really was.

Marie-Ann shook her head. "I may not be the nicest woman you'll ever meet but I wouldn't wish such a fate on you. Not yet, anyways. Besides, if he knew he had Batman sitting in here, he'd have chucked Robin out the window and watched every moment of this. He is quite obsessed with you."

Batman turned his gaze to the ground, the scenario playing out in his head before he decided to speak again. "You seem to have a plan. I'd like to know every detail of it." Bruce tried to use his Batman intimidation, unable to think with all this stupid emotion clouding his mind.

Danielle switched in, giving him a sympathetic look. "We can't say it, Bruce. You just need to trust us. I know that's kinda hard with you being Batman and getting the new team and stuff but you have to learn to trust 2 more people. Not for you, not for us but for Robin and your cute little family." Her voice was the sweet one she used to convince her customers, a little smile on her face to seal the deal.

"Fine." Bruce spat, knowing he'd have to cooperate but hating it entirely. If nothing else, he could do it to thank them for getting Robin out of the equation. "So you're just going to hypnotize me?"

Danielle giggled, the thrill from before finally coming back. "Nope!"

Marie-Ann switched in, eyes fully aglow as she made eye contact. "I'm going to hypnotize you."

The natural fear that seized Bruce for a moment was fading away, replaced by a soothing feeling he'd never experienced before. Had he still been in his right mind, he'd have been amazed by how little he was able to resist, if he could have fought it at all.

Marie-Ann scoffed quietly at how easy it was to put the famed crusader under her power. She had expected it to take much longer but then again, she nearly had her powers on full blast, wanting him under quickly to get things done. "Bruce, you're going to listen to both my sister and I, responding honestly and obeying completely. Nod if you understand."

Bruce nodded, the sides of his mouth twitching as the happiness that came from the enchanted entrancement started to overtake him.

Danielle switched back in, nearly twirling as she did so. This, she knew, would be much more fun than the first half of this ordeal. "Alright Bruce, you're gonna answer some questions for me! So, here's the first question!" She got a little closer to him, her own milk chocolate brown eyes sparkling with curiosity. "How do you feel about Joker?"


	8. Bye Bye Brucey (part 2)

Robin gasped when he realized he was back home. Memories hit him like a ton of bricks. Going under, Marie-Ann's made up memories, Joker's treatment, Bruce surrendering himself and one other factor. He slid the out card from his glove, holding it to his face to see what it was.

It was a business card, simply reading, "Hypnotist Marie-Ann: (562)-XXX-XXXX  
♥︎ ︎Therapist Dani ♥︎: +1 (562)-xxx-xxxx .｡:*☆  
Open 24 hours a week, including holidays and weekends"

It seemed rather ordinary until his eyes caught sight of a little map drawn neatly in black pen and instructions in cursive to turn the card over. Sparkly pink gel pen writing on the back told Robin to follow the map back to the hide-out with the others and convince Joker Batman wouldn't be joining them as he didn't want to save Bruce Wayne. It also read at the bottom, "I'm super sorry for Joker making you do backflips!" and included a cute drawing of a little Dani crying.

Robin stared at the card for awhile until he was suddenly pulled into a tight hug. "Wha-?!" He barely managed to choke out before he realized who his assailant was.

"Thank goodness you're home..." Alfred held him tight, not caring how uncharacteristic that was of him. His grandson was home, safe and sound and that's what mattered to him.

Robin hugged back, nuzzling his head against his chest. "I'm okay Grandpa, I promise. Nobody hurt me. But my legs do ache a bit." He joked, relaxing into the hold, knowing they both needed it.

Alfred reluctantly let go, growing serious once more as he began to nearly fire off questions, unable to help it. "Where is your father? Is he alright?"

Robin nodded quickly, handing him the card. "Joker has this assistant-er, assistants and they're trying to help us without letting Joker know! They made sure Batdad wouldn't reveal his secret identity and made sure I didn't say it either! And the card-it-it has the directions to his secret hideout and some of their plan to make sure everybody's safe!" He answered in a rush, miming out bits and pieces as all the energy pent up inside him burst out.

Alfred took out the phone again, calling up Barbra Gordon. "Robin's returned home entirely unharmed but they have now Bruce. Don't worry, I have a copy of the map from earlier."

Barbra sighed with relief. "Oh, thank the Man Upstairs. We had a drawn up version here at the station but Jerry spilled coffee on it and the other cops have been harassing him about it all day. Are we going to have to go after him ourselves?" The last sentence was spoken in a hush, not wanting anyone to catch wind that she'd be going on her own with only a optimistic child and an elderly Butler to assist.

"That seems to be the only option we have. Fortunately, it seems we'll have some assistance from the inside as well." Alfred rushed to get his costume, Robin running to get his proper weapons as everything he'd had on him had been stolen by Joker.

Barbra left the station, going to her car to get her own outfit and made sure she was undetected. "Send me a picture of the directions and you can explain everything once we get there. If Robin remembers anything, I need to hear from him too. Whoever Joker's working with is someone I'd like to know about."

。。。

Joker returned home to yet another beautiful sight that day. Bruce Wayne was now the pure idiot he was supposed to be, body hunched forward, mouth open like he wanted to speak but didn't know what to say. It honestly felt like lovely little birthday presents. "Hello you two! Oops, I should say three but I was too busy starting at that stupid eye candy to think of it!" He greeted, sitting right on the couch gleefully.

"I put him under much deeper than I did for Robin, since I had more time available to me. I hope he lives up to your standards, Mr. Joker. He didn't put up much of a fight." Marie-Ann scoffed, not having told a single lie so far, giving her words a concrete feeling of truth.

The makeup wearing maniac nodded in approval, sitting in Bruce Wayne's lap. "Perfect! Soooo, I can get my answers and toy with him while we wait for Batman and his Bat Pack to show up! Then we'll use him as a hostage and convince them all to go under your power! Not that I really need the girl bat or the old bat. Just the bird and the original~!" Joker pinched Bruce's cheeks, sighing almost in a love sick manner at the thought. "I'm so close to having him~ So close to ensnaring the Bat!"

Marie-Ann simply watched, deciding not to comment as she went through the situation and plan in her mind. They'd given Bruce clear instructions that for now, Batman was someone else entirely and they disliked each other so strongly that they couldn't stand to be in the same room as the other. The hypnotist had come up with some more backstory and that was all after Danielle's assessment of how Bruce felt and how it would all play into the practically fool proof plan. Most importantly, Marie-Ann would get back at Joker for the treatment he received. That was one aspect of the plan she refused to change.

Bruce Wayne was entirely unaware of the brilliance displayed by her for now. At the moment, he was convinced that he should just soak in the pleasure, barely able to register his face being toyed with. Instead, all he could see or think of was the red around him and the thought of obeying any command he'd receive from one of his 3 controllers. He had no clue that Batman was safely tucked away by a certain hypnotist.

Joker kept playing with his face, watching his red eyes remain unfocused and smirked at the thought of Batman being in this same position. It was lovely to imagine. "Picture it, Marie! One big, buff knight and his shiny red addition taking over the city under my control! You two will be free to leave once they're fully mine but I would recommend you stay and see the masterpiece you helped to create!" He laughed at the thought and a million other hilarious things that had come to mind.

Knowing it was better to keep her mouth shut, Marie-Ann walked over to the kitchen, letting the sound of her flats on the concrete floor convey everything. She wondered how long it would take for the supers to get here, if they'd timed and planned things correctly.

_"I promise, everything's okay, Marie-Ann. We worked really hard! There's no way something like this is gonna fall apart."_

Imagining Danielle's hopeful face and sparkling eyes made her stifle a chuckle. Maybe her sister was right to have such confidence in their abilities and combined skills. It would be nice for something to go right here. Instead of giving it all away, she kept the usual poker face, getting a glass of water and stood nearby.

Joker stood up, taking Bruce's arm to force him to his level. "Hey, Antoinette? Do you mind if I try out my Billionaire 2.0 for a moment? I hear he comes with all the latest actions!"

Rolling her eyes at the lame joke, Marie-Ann nodded. "Sure. He'll do his best but I wouldn't expect too much out of him." She approved, sitting on the couch in their stead as Joker and Bruce went closer to the door where there was nothing to stop Bruce from doing a cartwheel.

_"Y'know, Marie, I can't help thinking something's off with Bruce. I don't mean like, in his head, there's a lot more going on there that we saw, I mean like, he's...walking funny."_

Marie-Ann was put on alert the moment her sister's worried tone reached her. The more she looked at how Bruce moved when Joker positioned him, the more she noticed it. There was a bit of a limp. Was that why Joker had nabbed Robin instead? Had Batman simply been trying to recover?

_"If we want this thing to work, we gotta make sure Joker doesn't see Batman doing that too. Because he might seem totally oblivious but I think he noticed that limp before we did."_

Marie-Ann knew she was holding back the "And I don't want anybody hurt because we didn't notice that." she wanted to say. More guilt washed over the elder sister, making her sigh through her nose. "What he did wasn't your fault, Danielle."

_"Hm? Who, Joker? Of course not! That guy could have taken up a whole semester of our Psychology class. Mr.C would've been happy to-"_

"I'm talking about father." Marie-Ann corrected as quietly as possible, hoping Joker hadn't heard her. From the way he still excitedly watched Bruce's handstand, there was no way he had.

There was silence for a moment. _"I could've done more, Marie. I know it. I could've made him see that he was just upset about Mom leaving more than anything else. I wanted to help and I didn't. It's my fault you got hurt, Marie. I can't blame anyone else."_

Marie-Ann shook her head, holding her own hand tightly, knowing Danielle often did it when she wanted to comfort Marie. "Father did what he did out of a pain I don't think either of us could or should ever understand. It's over now anyways. The blame doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is helping Robin and his family." Her eyes found their way to a twirling Bruce. "I think they're a much lovelier family than ours ever was."

At that particular moment, a nearby wall exploded open and three members of the Batman family came in on their motorbikes, sliding them across the floor and stepped off of them, Batgirl removing her helmet to speak. "Playtime's over, Joker. Hand over Mr.Wayne."

Joker laughed, shoving Wayne to the floor and nearly skipped over to her. "Oh look! Fem Batman and the roost runner! Hello again, Robin! Didn't think you'd be back already~" He giggled, taking out one of the the super boy's minibombs. "I kept this nice and safe for you in case you did!" Without a moment's hesitation, he threw it at Robin's bike.

Batgirl quickly threw a batarang, that attached to the bomb and barely managed to fly out through the large gap they created and hit the abandoned building behind them. "No more games! You've done enough today!" She growled, taking out several more batarangs.

Danielle ran up to the situation, having switched in before to take care of things. "Wait! Please!" She begged, putting a hand in front of Joker. "Bruce is completely vulnerable to attack and if you all keep blowing things up he's bound to get hurt! Can't we talk this out like big boys and girls?!" Danielle looked at both sides, knowing that her plea had at least sounded reasonable.

Joker gave a little guffaw, suddenly sitting down on the floor, hands up. "Sure! We can talk all about things and have a nice cup of coffee! I dunno what bird brain can drink but maybe a margarita would be nice for him to try."

Robin looked confused, not too sure what a margarita was but then he smiled at Danielle, waving to her. "Hi, miss Danielle! Thanks for not hurting me!" He greeted, seeming a bit nervous. In all honesty, he wanted to sit and have the tea party with Joker.

"I might be willing to consider talking through this but I'm not sure if we can trust you. I don't even know who you are." Batgirl narrowed her eyes at Danielle, not liking the idea of going into any of this blind.

Marie-Ann switched in, glaring right back at her. She couldn't stand people like Barbra. "We have full control over Bruce. We can control his actions or keep him locked in his trance for as long as we please." She walked forward, fists balled up, daring anyone to speak up. "So I suggest you sit down and keep your mouth closed before one of us does something they regret. Have I made myself clear?" Her left eyebrow raised itself questioningly, wanting to know if there would be any issues.

Barbra nearly hissed at her, slowly sitting down as Alfred did, her blood boiling through her veins. "I'm only doing this for Mr. Wayne. You don't scare me one bit, criminal."

"Hi Miss Marie-Ann!" Robin waved as he sat down criss-cross applesauce style.

Marie-Ann turned to him, giving a small wave, her face remaining deadpan even though she thought that was adorable. Expressing emotions could wait later, right now, they had a plan to complete. She walked back over to Joker, lowering herself to the floor.

Joker (who had somehow gotten a cup of tea) took a sip of Earl Grey before he set it down. "If I may ask, where's Batman? It's pretty strange to see all his little lackeys without him guiding them to fit his perfect needs."

Alfred kept his perfectly calm appearance, fighting the urge to stare at Bruce, who was currently laying on the floor like a discarded rag doll. "Batman isn't coming here." He stated simply.

Joker dropped his tea cup, oblivious or not at all caring about the fact that it shattered. Either way, it didn't matter. What mattered was Batman wasn't coming.


	9. The Answer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short lil chapter as an apology for my big hiatus. Finally! The Batjokes train is coming on through! Choo-choo! Alllllll aboooooard! 
> 
> A lot of this is Danielle talking, sorry. I thought it'd be nice if she had a moment to parallel Marie-Ann's. Please enjoy! And sorry if this one gets a lil cheesy. Some fluff's been needed in this fic-

_**Earlier That Day** _

"How do you feel about the Joker?"

Bruce's mind took a moment to comprehend the question. There were a lot of emotions tied behind such a sentence. Years and years of battling, bickering, beating and butting heads had come together to create something most people couldn't understand. So with a little more analysis, Bruce spoke as honestly as possible. "I need him."

Danielle's eyes widened impossibly, a grin coming to her face. "You need him? In what way do you need him?" She asked, bouncing a little in place at all the excitement.

Bruce nodded at the first part and took another moment to collect his thoughts on the second. "Joker inspires me to push myself. His actions, while sometimes dark and extravagant, gives a world of what feels like pure darkness and tragedy some comedic light. I don't know how to deal with him right now other than what we've always done. Dance around each other in a battle of wits and fists. Deep down, I feel like I want to change things. Like if we changed how we did things that we could help each other. I'm scared of that fact. I try to deny it every time it comes to my mind. But Joker is a man warped partially by things I feel like are my own fault and responsibility. So no matter what, I feel as though I need him. I need him to heal himself. To heal...me." The last word was forced, as though a part of him was fighting.

Danielle nodded, taking it all in and sighed gently, putting a hand onto his head. "Silly boys. Can't handle any emotion but the 'manly ones' so you fight it all away. And you know how ridiculous it is but you're still scared to stray from your current path. Did I hit the nail on the head there?" She tilted her head, maintaining eye contact once more with him.

Bruce nodded slowly, still unable to lie as his world was still cloaked in crimson red. "Yes. That is a part of my feelings and reasoning behind my actions." He confirmed, nodding a little still.

The therapist nodded, thinking it over and giggled to herself. "It's kinda cute! I think you're also afraid of how Joker would react, 'cause I can tell he probably flirts with you a lot. You guys seem like the type, anyways. And so you're not sure how he really feels or if you're reading too much into things. You're scared of how he'll react. You don't wanna make a mistake and deal with the consequences. Right?"

"To think of the Joker harming others or himself, becoming truly afraid of me or trying to do harmful things for my sake is frightening to say the least. I wouldn't want him to seek out my affections through dangerous way and I wouldn't want him to do everything in his power to repel me away and make my job much more difficult." Bruce explained, brain whirring as it imagined said scenarios. A positive version of events didn't seem to exist within his mind.

Danielle kept her joyful face but it was more sympathetic now. "Poor thing. It's hard for you to trust anyone, I understand." She put a hand on his shoulder. "Joker isn't like you. And you're not like the Joker. You're two completely different people who are sorta stuck together. Sometimes you do similar things but that doesn't make you the same. You want Joker to see your side and Joker wants you to see his. And you two are so busy clashing your ideals together to reach a happy medium. To learn to work together and satisfy what you want from the other, what you want in general."

**"Danielle..."**

Danielle stroked her hand through Bruce's hair, studying his face. Entirely different from Joker's in nearly every way. The jaw line, the eye colors, the skin tones, the amount of hair on his skin compared to Joker's lack thereof. "A long time ago, Marie-Ann and I had a dad. We lived under one roof and didn't know how to deal with it. Dad only wanted me. He didn't want Marie-Ann but he couldn't get rid of her without getting rid of me too. So for a long time, I took care of almost everything, hid Marie-Ann from him and it felt like I was suffocating her. We were kids. Scared and sad and alone, too afraid to work together to overcome an obstacle that should've been a piece of cake for us even at such a young age." She gripped his hair, keeping their eyes locked. "Dad wanted me to engulf her. He wanted me to become the only girl in this body. For two daughters to become one, killing the other in the process. He thought that would be really easy to do. But he thought wrong." Tears rolled down Danielle's cheeks. "I love my sister more than anybody else in the world. Maybe she's kinda mean and blunt and scary but she's strong. She's beautiful and wise and mature. Her magic is really special too. I wish I could do something like that but I can't. And I'm okay with that. I'm okay with not being the same person. Maybe life would be easier that way. But life wouldn't be as good, as worth living if she weren't so different." Her shoulders shook a little, that same sweet smile on her lips. "If it hadn't been for her, I never would have gotten through those times with Dad. If Mom had died with only me left to hurt, I probably would have gotten myself killed. Whether he did it or..." She sniffled, using her arm to wipe some of it away. "I couldn't have gotten this far without my sister. And I don't think you could have gotten this far without Joker. Marie-Ann is my big sister. And Joker's your nemesis. They push us and see things from a different view sometimes but we love them all the same. We need them. That sounds really strange but it's true. We need different people to exist to understand ourselves better. To make life better. So maybe it's time you decided to work together with Joker rather than try to force him to see things your way. As far as I can tell, the forcing thing hasn't really been working so far anyways." Danielle gave a genuine laugh at that, hands trying to keep her vision clear.

 **"That was beautiful, Danielle. I think he understands now."** Marie-Ann's voice had a touched and soft tone to it. **"May I complete things for us? I think you've done quite enough on your own."**

Danielle nodded to herself, switching out willingly. _"I'm sorry for breaking down. I'm just happy you're here. And I'm sorry that I made you feel the way I did. I meant what I said, Marie. I love you."_

Marie-Ann switched in, a small blush on her face as she did so. "I love you too, Dani. But you should save all that mush for Ashlyn." She whispered teasingly, adoring the embarrassed stutter she got in response. "Now Bruce, I need you to keep Danielle's words in mind. Did you bring your entire costume here with you?" The hypnotist inquired, truly hoping he had.

"Yes I did. It's in my car, waiting to be put on should I need to wear it." Batman confessed, his mind flashing to when he was back in the batcave with Alfred.

Marie-Ann pat Bruce's head, the hand not having left from when Danielle had it there. "Good. I will now install a trigger word that you will only respond to if my sister or I say it. Do you understand?"

Bruce nodded, knowing full well what a trigger word was and not wanting or able to fight Marie-Ann in the slightest.

"If/When one of us says the word moonlight, you will immediately find a way out of the room if need be and change into your Batsuit. You will then find a way, while remembering what Danielle said, to confess your true feelings to the Joker. Nothing will make you hesitate or refrain from your honest feelings. And once you've finished confessing, you will be released from your trance with the memory of all that occurred. Once again, the word is moonlight. Do you understand?" Marie-Ann instructed calmly and slowly, wanting him to retain it all.

Bruce of course, gave a nod of agreement, completely capable of getting all that information and understanding it. Moonlight would cause him to don the cape and finally say how he felt.

Danielle switched back in, twirling around in excitement. "Yaaaaay~! Aw man, this is gonna be so much fun! I really hope we can end this mission on a good note." She let out a dreamy little sound imagining some romantic scene play out with Batman and Joker.

Marie-Ann rolled her eyes at the childish behavior, knowing it was a bit risky to say things like that so loudly. But she let it go this time. Her sister had been rather sweet earlier, so she'd let her off the hook this one time. Next time however, Danielle wouldn't be so lucky. **"I do as well, Danielle. I do as well."**


	10. The Hyping Up!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One last update!

Even though some personal things came up, I'm finally ready to continue this fic! My original plans helped steer me into a direction again! I've been loosely following it's structure but I think this one is going to be a lot more of that spinal work.

Yes, this will be after chapter 8 and chapter 9 was a quick flashback chapter. I thought it'd be nice to slice that in-between so things in this chapter would feel less contrived. Now it'll have a more natural flow~! Ahaha, just kidding. The flow in this fic is funkier than leftover cheese.   
。・゜・(ノД`)・゜・。

I've noticed quite a few little mistakes and once I finish this fic, I'll revise and fix it all. Right now, I'm trying to just focus on having fun and writing what I want instead of having my grammar and spelling as perfect as I usually try to make it. I hardly ever finish stories I start, so I'd rather push myself through one chapter and publish it ASAP then drag through it, triple check it and then never publish it. (If anyone would like to help me, I'd really appreciate it) So thanks for managing to read through some of the weird errors I've left and I'll do my best to make as few mistakes as possible! Someday I'll fix it all. 

I'll be spending the night working on this fic, doing the next chapter and a few more if possible! I just wanted to finally let everyone know I'm back and ready to roll! See you all very soon! Comments, kudos and pickup lines are always appreciated! 


	11. Moonlight Denetsu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> YAAAAY, A REAL CHAPTER!
> 
> My original plans helped steer me into a direction again! I've been loosely following it's structure but I think this one is going to be a lot more of that spinal work.
> 
> As always, comments, kudos and pick up lines are very much appreciated!

_**Back to the Present...** _

"What are you talking about? I kidnapped Robin, then Batman's roommate/co-guardian and now I could potentially kidnap or destroy all of you! There's no way he wouldn't come here!" Joker's faded smile came back with the self reassurance he exclaimed although it nearly screeched desperate. The idea of Batman not showing up just seemed impossible to Joker, especially after all he'd done today.

Robin shook his head, hating to lie even though he knew he had to. "Nope! Batdad hates Dad! He thinks we can handle all this all on our own anyways." The former orphan added, really enjoying the idea of Batman trusting him that much. He a feeling that wasn't the truth at all but it was nice to play pretend.

Marie-Ann tsked, shaking her head slowly as though it was a shame. "How disheartening. Your true nemesis doesn't find Bruce Wayne worth saving." The hypnotist smirked unabashedly, keeping up the ruse and imagining Joker's later surprise. "The two of them simply cannot get along." She shrugged dismissively as though there were no sadder, simpler truth than that.

Joker pouted, crossing his arms with a childish huff. "Not even after all this work?! I did NOT kidnap two people in one day and hire a whole other person for nothing! Unless..." He trailed off, realizing that Batman probably cared about all these other people much more than that useless billionaire. "Marieeee~? I know I've put you and your sissy through a lot of trouble today but could you do me a huge favor and put these people under your spell so we can get Batman here already?" Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime put on the cutest face he could, giving a double "blinkity blink"ing for maximum effect.

Marie-Ann rolled her eyes, annoyance clear on her face before she shrugged again. "If you insist. Though a group of individuals is a tad more difficult. Not impossible, difficult." She got back up, taking out Danielle's phone from her pocket and opened it with ease.

The battling Batfamily went on their feet, including a confused Robin, who was searching around to see if there was something she was trying to create a diversion for. There was no way Marie-Ann was going to betray them now, right?

"Um, Miss Marie-Ann? Are you really going to put is in a trance?" Robin hesitantly asked, completely uncertain of the events that were about to transpire. It didn't just seem right to him, Marie-Ann and her sister had already done so much for them. Was this a part of their plan? Should he just play along?

Marie-Ann didn't reply, going through the phone's music playlist. She turned to Joker with a look of boredom. "I hope you don't mind if I play some music for them. This happens to be quite a unique genre that will assist me in my endeavors." Explained the ruby eyed woman, casually looking through all the songs in the playlist she'd opened.

Robin's eyes widened and some fear set in as he looked to his other two family members, his fear merely increasing with his sense of urgency and action. "Uhhh, shouldn't we maybe do something?? I think she's being serious about this!"

Barbra was about to speak up in agreement but Alfred cut in. "It's alright, Robin. We shouldn't put Mr.Wayne in the line of fire." He insisted, putting up his hands in a move of surrender. "For now, we'll simply have to wait for Batman to arrive." His gaze traveled to Marie-Ann's. The Brit knew a diversion when he saw one.

" _Thanks, Alfred. Whew. Hurry up, Marie! We don't want Joker to get suspicious!"_ Danielle rushed her sister and would have been biting her lip had she been switched in. She hated to be so impatient but gosh darn it, they had no choice but to put the plan on full throttle.

Marie-Ann gave a small sound of agreement, pausing when she seemed confused. "Hm, what was it? What was the name of it again?" She kept searching and hummed to herself as if she couldn't recall the name but absolutely knew the tune.

"Moonlight sonata?" Batgirl answered, annoyed by the humming and the idea that they were going to have to simply sit here and let this woman do as she pleased. Alfred might really trust her, (Them? Hers? She may have gone to Harvard for Police but she still wasn't sure how in the world to refer to Marie-Ann and Danielle.) however, she didn't. Not yet.

Marie-Ann's eyes lit up as though she'd also reached the conclusion. "Yes, yes, that's right! Moonlight Sonata." She pressed the button to the song she named and let her eyes stay aglow, having seen them all look at her when she'd yelled in accomplishment. Thanks to her outburst, she'd managed to snag the rest of the Batfamily.

No one, save for Danielle who was straining to hear it, noticed Bruce Wayne suddenly get up and begin to scale the wall, going for the open window at the top of the lair since the door was further away and he would have been seen by the others.

Marie-Ann turned the music up to it's loudest, taking out a device she'd pocketed from their luggage when they'd left the bathroom earlier. Setting it on top of the phone, it became a speaker and amplified it so the entire building was filled with the sound of the piano. She enjoyed the eye contact from the heroes and nearly walked forward when she saw another pair of eyes on her.

 _"MARIE, MARIE, KEEP MOVING, KEEP DOING IT!"_ Danielle urged in the mindscape, knowing there was no way to just mess around and give a diversion. With Joker now under her sister's spell, a pause or lapse could cause him to awaken and realize Bruce Wayne was gone.

Not wanting to complicate things any further, Marie-Ann took Joker's hand, leading him forward so he could join the others. She amplified her power, starting to feel the strain. This was too much, she'd been doing this all day, she needed to rest but she pushed herself on. The song would loop, she wasn't worried about that, but she would most likely collapse after the song had ended twice. Having Joker hypnotized wasn't a part of the plan at all but she'd have to work with it. She sat them all down, putting Joker down next to Robin and making sure she had all the attention "Keep your eyes on me. Let the music and my eyes guide you into a deep, deep trance." The hypnotist instructed, her voice relaxed and somewhat pleasant. That was of course, a facade that was going to shatter if she had to strain herself.

Each one of her victims reflected this perfectly, their eyes half lidding as they submitted to her power. Joker included, who seemed even more pliant than the previously hypnotized boy wonder was. They all kept perfect eye contact, blissfully unaware of her continuing plan that crumbled slightly with the extra pair of eyes being there.

The steady stream of magic was starting to wear thin but Marie-Ann didn't let up, making sure to her eyes were bright enough to have all of them stay under. "Now that you are all in such deep trances, you have no choice but to obey my every command. This means you will carry on my instructions even when you have awoken from your trance. Each and every one of you will do whatever. I. Say. Nod twice if you understand me."

4 heads nodded twice in perfect unison, never missing a beat and quickly gave their attention back to her.

Marie-Ann smirked as she watched them nod. It had been at least a decade since she'd last done a cutesy little hypnosis show and yet, she could still do group entrancements. It gave her a boost in power as her confidence ensured that if this was the last session of the day, she was going to make it a good one. "Good. Let this music soothe you, let every note assure you of your place. For now, you are all but my puppets, play things upon a stage of my design. None of you have been aware of this but my sister and I spent the day putting this scenario together. In order for it to work, all of you will have no desire to be in combat or see anything wrong with being in the same room with one another, calm and friendly. Nod if you understand."

4 heads nodded in sync once more and Danielle giggled. _"Someone's feeling a little megalomania today, aren't they?"_ She teased, knowing it was good in these circumstances but she couldn't resist the little jab.

In response, Marie-Ann turned up the music and finally let go of all the restraints she had. There was no need to hold back or reserve any magic for the rest of the day. She was going to give this her all. "Good. Now, Batman is on his way here and when you all awaken, you will each do what I have told you to do. Joker, you will approach him, not with any intent to fight but to listen to him and then confess any and all feelings for Batman you may be hiding. Richard, Alfred and Barbra, you will all sit and greet him but not approach him until they've both finished. Do you all understand what your instructions are?"

This time, they didn't all nod in sync. Joker was the first, Alfred a quick second, Barbra a late third and Robin nodded after a very long pause.

Marie-Ann let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding when Robin finally nodded. At this point, this little scenario was the only way this plan was going to work. "Good. Now, Richard..." She trailed off, realizing she couldn't recall the names Robin had told Danielle hours earlier during question time.

 _"Alfred's the old butler guy and Barbra's the lady you don't like."_ Danielle supplied as quickly as she could, not wanting things to fall apart after they'd worked so hard to get here.

"...Alfred and Barbra, after you have let the instructions I've given you repeat once more in your minds, you may all awaken with absolutely no memory of what was said in this trance. The rest of my instructions will be directed towards the Joker and the Joker alone." Marie-Ann motioned to the red eyed Clown Prince of Crime.

Their original plan had been to simply have the Batfamily be unable to interfere as Batman spilled out his heart and watch Joker's reaction to it but this was much better. Even if it would drain Marie-Ann of her power, it was still a marked improvement to the plan.

As the instructions echoed within the heroes' minds, the light was less brighter than it had been before. The song had looped and was now halfway into it's second play. It felt like the piano almost mocked her, told her she was running out of time. She walked over to Joker, lowering herself onto her knees as smoothly as possible so the eye to eye contact wasn't lost. "Joker, you need to let go of the fear you have of Batman's rejection. Your affection for him is clear, he is somewhat aware of it. When you tell him how you feel, you must be honest and convince him you mean it." Over halfway and Marie-Ann knew the light was getting dimmer. "You will tell him what you really want from him and find out what h-he wants from y-you." As the light became less powerful, Marie-Ann swore she could see black spots in her vision but she still held on. "N-N-Nod if this is what you will d-do."

Joker took his time, for once and then finally gave her the two nods she'd been holding on for.

"G-Good. Now let the in-instructions r-repeat w-within your m-m-mind and then a-awaken from your t-t-trance with no m-memory of g-g-going u-u-under." Marie-Ann stuttered through her sentence before her eyes were finally dull, her own mind going blank as she passed out.

"MARIE!" Danielle switched in, catching the body before it fell and reaching out for the sister she couldn't catch. She searched the mindscape and let out a sigh of relief when she could still feel her sister there. "You did a great job, sis. Rest as much as you need to." Danielle stood back up, adjusting her clothing as Batman came through the front doors. "I've got this all taken care of."

**Author's Note:**

> Drama, gays, hypnotism! Aaaa, this feels like home to me...
> 
> If you'd like to commission me for a fic like this or anything else I've written, you can totally contact me through my Instagram @hypnotichetalia or you can just buy me a coffee! (https://ko-fi.com/R5R4JH14#)


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